Dutch Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager has said he wants Greece to "take more steps" to restore its credit rating.

The minister made his remarks on the sidelines of a meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels. The meeting is intended to find a solution to the Greek debt crisis. Among the possible measures being discussed are partial debt remission and longer repayment periods.

However, Minister De Jager emphasised that debt restructuring was not yet being considered. He said Greece must become more competitive, and that it had not even begun to implement the privatisations Athens announced earlier.

Mr De Jager compared Greece to a Communist country because of the large number of state-owned businesses.

(gsh/ae)

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